Steve Jobs completed iPad design almost decade before 2010 debut

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs had completed a prototype design of an iPad almost a decade ago in 2002.

The website, iOnApple, has given a comprehensive run-down of the iPad''s formation which quotes Jobs at the 2010 All Things Digital conference, telling Walt Mossberg that the iPad came before the iPhone (released in 2007).

The iPad, which was unveiled in April 2010, was known to be in development for at least two years before release, and was a runaway hit, instantly creating a tablet market where others had failed

“I’ll tell you a secret. It began with the tablet. I had this idea about having a glass display, a multitouch display you could type on with your fingers. I asked our people about it. And six months later, they came back with this amazing display,” the Daily Mail quoted Jobs, as saying on the website.

“And I gave it to one of our really brilliant UI guys. He got scrolling working and some other things, and I thought, "my God, we can build a phone with this!" So we put the tablet aside, and we went to work on the iPhone,” he added.

The images come from the still ongoing court battle between Samsung and Apple, and were shown at a deposition of chief Apple designer Jonathan Ive in December 2011, which were later released by Apple following a request by Samsung.

Ive is a legend among designer, tech enthusiasts and Apple fans, while his designs formed almost the entire basis for the iMac, iPad and iPhone, turning Apple into a style icon and one of the biggest brands of the last decade.